The Washington Post urges Democrats to vote for the “least crazy plan to avert shutdown.”
The Post’s editorial frames the problems like this:
“THE UNITED STATES, the world’s leading democracy, is just days away from an embarrassing partial federal government shutdown. It will occur at 11:59 PM Friday unless Congress can adopt a spending plan that President Biden will sign. Once again, federal workers — from military service members to maintenance workers — are worried they might not be paid on time. Investors are rethinking how safe U.S. debt really is. Meanwhile, foreign leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will be in California this week, might be treated to the spectacle of a supposed superpower that can’t even stay fully operational at a time of global peril. There appears to be one long-shot way to keep the government open, however: a plan from new House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) that would fund agencies until at least Jan. 19. Lawmakers of both parties should take it.
“Yes, House Republicans are mainly to blame for this mess. They have been engaging in so much infighting that they can’t manage to pass budget bills with just GOP votes. They ousted their last speaker, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), after he used some Democratic votes to pass legislation averting a shutdown that would have begun on Oct. 1 and setting this new fast-approaching deadline: Nov. 17. …”
The bill sets up an ugly confrontation beginning in January. It has many flaws, allowing agencies to stay open but operating on funding based on last year’s funding allocations. Worse yet, it allows zero additional aid for Israel and Ukraine, which the Biden administration urgently wants. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas continue to intensify, and U.S. credibility is at stake.
Opinion: